Friends come to Dahlonega!

First of all, I am happy to announce that we have officially reached the Full Term point – 37 weeks, and ready to go! There haven’t been too many signs of anything though, so we will continue the waiting game. I have been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions here and there, but nothing real yet. Doctor appointments are now once a week, so I’ll find out tomorrow how everything is going.

October has been a fun month of visits from good friends. Our first guest, Michelle, flew down for a long weekend and spoiled us by doing our dishes, making pumpkin bars, and overall doting on yours truly. Nick actually had a full weekend off (for once), so the 3 of us hit up some yard sales, kayaked, explored the woods to find some waterfalls, window shopped, and mostly just enjoyed each others’ company. It was wonderful to have so much down time together, and I hope one day I get to dote on a pregnant Michelle just as much :).

Nick’s yard sale find!

Hah, as you can see – sock monkey has been the baby model for all our gear so far. He has enjoyed testing a baby carrier, car seat, hiking backpack etc.

So, in case Michelle hadn’t spoiled us enough – we had more friends come visit the very next weekend! Brendan, Kim, Tim and Rhonda all made the trek down for a fun (yet quick) weekend. We were able to pack quite a few activities into the time: smores by a fire, more kayaking, Oktoberfest, hiking etc. Kim was kind enough to share her birthday weekend with us, so we enjoyed mimosas and cupcakes on Sunday while doing our best to celebrate her special day!

Hiking on Mount Yonah

Happy Birthday Kim!

Birthday Breakfast

The gang

You only see guys in the hiking picture, because the girls were smart and chose sleep over early morning torture :).

Seen enough pictures? Too bad – I have more! Pictures are more fun than text anyway. I will leave you with a few pictures of the mostly finished nursery, and one of my final belly bumps.

37 Weeks – Full Term!

Going to the Chapel, and Lucy’s getting married

Our little Looc is now a married woman! Nick and I made the drive up to Lynchburg, VA at the end of September to participate in loads of wedding festivities. The drive was a bit of a challenge for my 8 1/2 month pregnant body, but we made it no problem. We stayed with our friends, Matt and Michelle, and enjoyed some quality time with them in between brunches, rehearsals, and ceremonies. Everyone was very sweet, going out of their way to give lots of reassuring comments in regards to my growing baby bump.

At the wedding with Mom and Dad Milot

The Bride and Groom!

I’m so glad we were able to participate in the happy day – although I may think twice about being in a wedding while uber pregnant.

Back at home, Mugsy seemed to finally catch on that I was pregnant, and started acting really funny. Lots of women have told me that their dogs became super protective of them as soon as they got pregnant, or that their dog seemed to sense when they were going to go into labor. Since Mugsy hadn’t been acting weird the whole time, it made me nervous that she was “sensing/predicting” something instead. She didn’t leave my side for 3-4 days, even following me to the bathroom.

Exccuuuuse me

Usually she is too scared to come in our bathroom, because of the super scary hairdryer – but as you can see she was determined to stand guard no matter what. She has since given up this post, but you can be sure that her behavior made me pretty nervous. So much for dog premonitions.

Finally, Nick and I had some maternity pictures taken recently to document little Baby Lew’s growth. Our friend, Kelly, did a great job on the photos – thank you! Here are a few highlights:

Like Mother, Like Son

“They” say a baby’s sleep schedule in the womb is a decent indication of what it will be like after birth. If that’s the case, I’m in big trouble. I have done my darnedest not to be the night owl I normally am, but somehow this baby figured it out anyway. The first 7 1/2 months or so, little dude was pretty good about settling down at night and letting me sleep. No more. As soon as my head hits the pillow, he starts a baby rave – dancing and singing and movin to the groovin. I’m hoping it’s a phase…

Also,  I’ve been saying I haven’t been having any cravings this whole time. However, I think I should probably change that, seeing as how I’ve found myself at Chick-fil-a an embarrassing amount of times in the past 3 weeks. In fact, the owner went ahead and gave me a bunch of kids meal coupons because he said obviously my baby already loves some Chick-fil-a :). So there you have it, our son will be great company for chick-fil-a openings and my late night, can’t sleep episodes.

September took us back to Clarksville, TN for a quick weekend with good friends. Tim and Rhonda were sweet enough to throw us a lovely shower – the ladies at one house, and some of the husbands hung out at another house down the street. The guys showered Nick with diapers (including a few adult sized ones for him, just in case), while the ladies enjoyed delicious desserts and lots of “baby” conversation. Rhonda (with the help of friends Ali and Courtney), did an amazing job decorating and setting up an adorable Baby Boy shower. It was like walking into a Pinterest page: check it out…

If you’re looking to plan a party in Clarksville TN, you will want to call Rhonda Mendoza

The desserts were all green and/or mint themed – which is right up my alley :). The ladies also all painted onesies, and gave encouraging Mommy advice along with special gifts. It was a wonderful afternoon to be able to share with old friends – a few of whom are recent/new moms with priceless words of wisdom, and a few who will make fantastic Moms one day. Thank you Tim and Rhonda!

Pre-shower

Porch Sittin with the Mendoza’s

As far as pregnant life goes, I have reached my 33rd week and am getting less graceful by the day :). My feet have disappeared from view, but thankfully my walk has yet to become a waddle (not all the time at least).  Keeping the house clean is becoming a bit of a challenge, as I’ve noticed that most tasks involve bending, reaching and/or lifting – none of which I’m very good at anymore. I’m pretty much sticking to whatever is at waist/eye level and ignoring everything else. It seems to be working so far, as Mugsy makes sure all fallen food is taken care of right away. Here’s my most recent profile shot – at 32 weeks I believe:

Ba-bump!

This little one has yet to be named, but Nick and I have agreed that we need to nail down a few options in the very near future. I still don’t think we’ll be announcing anything until he arrives, but it will be good to have some solid choices finally. Since we’re getting serious about names, Nick’s imagination has turned from crazy names to possible careers for the little guy. Obviously his top choices are something having to do with tools or baseball. While at a Braves game this past weekend, he decided that if our son isn’t naturally athletic enough to play baseball, the next best thing would be the organ player… “That way he can enjoy baseball and bring joy to fans for years!” He’s a thinker, that one.

Pregnancy: Learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable

I have not abandoned the blog – although I agree, it started to look that way, sorry. August has been a busy month: trip home to VA, Lewis family beach trip, baby shower,  and a trip down to Ft Benning to visit Nick. I never thought I would be able to get so much time with friends and family prior to this little guy’s arrival – I suppose that has been the silver lining of Nick’s random month away. That, and the fact that the Lord put a few “co-workers” next to him during this exercise who just happened to be getting rid of a few baby/nursery items. Neat.

So, it only took 30 weeks (only…), but I think I can finally say I am comfortable with this whole being pregnant thing. My belly will continue to get bigger, sleeping will become even more difficult, aches and pains will persist – but it all comes with the territory, and I’m good with it. Our little guy is incredibly active, so I get to enjoy feeling/watching him roll around for a combined few hours a day. I have heard a lot of pregnant women say  things like “Oh, feels like I have a future soccer player in my stomach,” or “He’s probably going to be a gymnast based on his movement.” Not to be an unsupportive parent, but this child feels much more spastic than athletic to me. More like “hey Mom! Look what I can do! (Insert mental image: child flailing around wildly, arms flapping and eventually falling down)” Either way, we are going to be the proud parents of an athlete or a total spaz :). I kid, mostly. This photo is actually from last week, but still gives you a good idea of how things are going.

29 Weeks

It really was a great blessing to be able to spend time with the Lewis’ at the beach and my family in Yorktown, visit with friends, and celebrate this little baby with a wonderful shower. Emily Street, her parents, Mike and Elaine, and good friends, Nikki and David Evinger, did a wonderful job hosting a “Welcome to the World” get together for Baby Lew. The food was deliciously fun, representing the places Nick and I had visited/lived around the world (France, England, Korea, Afghanistan, Italy, etc). Thank you to everyone who braved the thunderstorms to come celebrate with us – Nick and I have been ooh’ing and aww’ing over everything again as we get it all washed and set up.

Shower candid – while playing “Baby Jeopardy”

Lewis Family

Another fantastic showing of the Soupbowl!

The Milot Ladies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, one of the fun things Nick planned for us to do during my visit to Columbus was to visit a Wild Animal Safari. It is like a drive thru zoo where the animals come in your car/van window in search of food. A very fun experience, although I was a bit nervous around some of the bigger animals (buffalo, giraffes, oxen etc), as I think there is something to be said for a healthy fear of those guys. Little did I know, my real fear should have been the llama…stupid thing decided to projectile sneeze food/slobber all over my face. We had some good laughs/screams along the way for sure. Columbus was also a great place to do a lot of shopping, as all Dahlonega has to offer is a Wal-mart. We still have a short list of nursery things to do, but Baby Lew will definitely be an adorably dressed little boy thanks to you all! I will leave you with a few safari pictures, for your viewing pleasure:

Nick feeding a giraffe

Feeding the Zebras

A common approach: mouth open and tongue to the side to maximize food area

6 Months and Growing

It’s been 6 months? Wowza. This pregnancy math is pretty flawed though, if you ask me. Why is no one questioning this whole 40 weeks=9 months thing? I know I know, there are technicalities here, but elementary school taught me that there are 4 weeks in 1 month which means 40 weeks=10 months. Boo. So here I sit, 25 weeks along, with 15 to go.

July has proven to be a great month, despite the ridiculous heat that seems to make your skin melt. A good portion of the Soupbowl (the name of our house of girls from college) was able to make it to NYC for Lucy’s Bachelorette celebration weekend! It was awesome to get to hang out with such wonderful women, even if only for a short time. We didn’t do anything real touristy, instead opted to enjoy good food and quality time together. I loved being able to share some of Baby Lew’s little kicks/punches (which aren’t as little anymore) with them too!

Getting ready to head to dinner in NYC!

There seems to be little confusion over whether or not I’m pregnant anymore, which makes going in public even more interesting. People have been very sweet so far – New Yorkers being the obvious exception to this rule. The strangest encounter so far was with a man who screamed “HEY! Congratulations!!” from across the parking lot. Overall, I am a big fan of the public’s treatment of pregnant women. A woman who walks into a store with small (usually screaming) children does not seem to be welcomed as nicely as a woman sporting a recognizable baby bump. Hardly seems fair to me – but hey, I’ll take it while I can get it.

25 weeks – a few weeks make a big difference huh?

Not a whole lot else to report on the nursery – a lot of projects will probably have to wait until September when Nick gets back from Ft. Benning. To help pass some of the time in between, I will be making an extended visit to VA starting next week. It will be nice to get time with family/friends – if you are reading this and you live in VA, let’s make plans to hang out :). The visit will wrap up with a Baby Lew Shower on August 11th! So exciting! Make a note on your calendar, invitations will be going out very soon – but consider this your informal invite.

So, finally, I have noticed that we have exactly 4 pieces of clothing for our little guy so far – take a look:

Is there a theme here?

Hah, this will either be the most accomplished, or most confused child ever. Actually, each is just a reminder of an accomplished friend or family member who is already showering our little guy with love :). Thank you, friends.

Build a Nursery

Summer leave – it always sounds like it’s going to be a lot more time off then it feels like. Nick did take a good chunk of time off though for us to take a babymoon, get started on the nursery, and also just take some time to relax at home together.

We started our trip in Destin, FL, where we lazed by the pool, ate, slept, ate, strolled the beach, annnnd repeat. It was really nice having absolutely no pressure on our schedule – no work, no to-do list, no time table whatsoever. That’s what vacation is supposed to be, right? From there we headed a little ways down the road to visit some friends, Leslie and Barrett Rife, at their new Army home in Navarre, FL. Leslie is expecting in October (2 weeks ahead of me), so it was fun to have someone who wants to talk about everything pregnancy/baby! Plus, Barrett is also a Ranger Instructor (at the Swamp Phase), so he and Nick had their own topic to explore.

22 weeks – ready to head to the pool!

Back at home, we quickly prepared for some weekend visitors – the entire Milot Army! They were on their way back from their own FL vacation, and took a slight detour to spend 2 days with us in Dahlonega. We had a fun time exploring the town, and getting the Ranger tour of Camp Merrill from Nick. This was the first time since Christmas that we were all together, and although we were semi-stuffed into our house, it was a wonderful time of family togetherness.

Milot/Lewis Family in front of the rock face on Camp

Finally, we spent a few days clearing out, cleaning, and painting the office/future nursery space. There are still a few things to clear out, but we were able to downsize a good amount. As for the wall color – we were shooting for a grey/blue. Instead, we spent a good amount of time at Home Depot discussing whether or not the other person was color blind based on their choices. Also, neither of us possesses the patience to paint different options on the wall, wait a few days and see what we like. We just pick one, start painting, and openly discuss how we think we made a mistake while we paint. Then once it’s done, it’s grown on us and we love it! It’s a method.

With all the painting done and carpets cleaned, the first piece of the baby puzzle could go in the room – the crib! Despite his expression in the photo below, Nick expertly assembled the crib – I have no doubt it can hold an 8 lb Lewis baby. I keep saying 8 lb baby huh? Let’s make it 7 1/2, for my sake. Anyway, here are some pictures of the finished product (note the wall color too):

Uhhh….anybody got any glue?

Finito! Well, minus a mattress. Details, shmetails

Paint and crib, check. We still have a good number of projects ahead of us before the nursery will be ready, but we will save those for another day.

How much stuff could something so small need?

Checking back in at 21 weeks, 4 days – a little bigger and even more overwhelmed with the ridiculous amount of stuff an 8 lb human “NEEDS.” Pretty sure babies have survived for thousands of years without 98% of the contents of Babies R Us – but who am I to judge? In fact, I think Nick and I quickly fell into the new parents trap and starting frantically scanning everything. We have started this process a bit early, as Nick recently got word that he will be spending the month of August doing some fabulous Army training away from home. This turn of events means that our baby planning schedule got pushed up a bit, and we headed to “The world of Baby stuff” semi more unprepared than I think we would have been come August ( a classic procrastinator thought process).

You walk into the store with a false sense of confidence, that is dashed as soon as you see a wall FULL of 3,000 kinds of pacifiers and bottles (I’ve rounded up, obviously). We caught our breath, got our scanny gun and list, and starting making our way through the madness. Everything was going really well for the first 45 min or so – dare I say, we were having fun…that is, until we hit the car seat aisle.  As we silently stared at the row of different (yet mostly identical) infant seats, a nice worker popped around the corner and advised us to “pick a stroller you like first, then choose a car seat based on what is compatible with the base.” Perfect. Thank you sir. Off to the strollers we go.

Nick started playing with different strollers, the common theme being that we couldn’t always figure out how to make them do everything they were supposed to do. The manual may or may not have been consulted for one particularly stubborn device:

See, whatcha gotta do is pull the RED handle, twist, clap 3 times, and presto!

All joking aside, we were able to make our way through the store with only a few wide-eyed moments, and overall really enjoyed being able to start imagining our little guy in person.

Another milestone for me, personally, is that I finally had the first person (outside of a doctor’s office or baby store) ask me “When are you due?” So I guess I am finally on my way out of the fat stage, and making my way into being noticeably pregnant. I will take it. Here’s an updated picture for you all, to judge for yourselves:

21 weeks

Oh, and finally, as initially promised, I will leave you with a few pictures of our Gender Cake reveal from the beach. Hope everyone is having a lovely summer so far – albeit insanely hot for most.

It’s BLUE!

Beach group celebrating

Halfway there! Boy or Girl?

This weekend will mark the halfway point of our 40 week adventure (actually, maybe the REAL adventure begins at the end)! I am feeling great and finally starting to enjoy this whole pregnancy thing. Being able to see our little nugget via ultrasound is a HUGE attitude adjustment, I must say. I can now feel lots of movement throughout the day/night too – another way to drastically improve your “whoa is me” mood.

Nick and I went to have a very brief peek at the little one last week, as we wanted to find out the gender before our group vacation to Corolla. The technician sealed the “answer” in an envelope (since Nick and I wanted to be surprised along with everyone else), which then traveled with us to a bakery at the beach. The baker excitedly made us a cake based on the contents of the envelope (dyed pink inside for girl, blue for boy). I’m so glad we were able to celebrate the big reveal with so many close friends – we had a lot of fun dividing into “Team Boy” and “Team Girl” before cutting the cake. Annnd the cut revealed BLUE! Baby Lewis is officially a boy! Hugs, tears, and cake (obviously) followed!

The beach weekend was a perfect time of fun, food, sun, and fellowship with 10 of our closest friends. I will include some pictures once I get them from Rhonda and Kim – as I was too lazy to take my own :). You’re supposed to be lazy at the beach, right?

I do, however, have some fun pictures from our doctor ultrasound, as well as my 19 week belly shot. It may not look huge to you (if it does, I don’t want to know), but I assure you, it’s growing. Not being able to button your pants despite a significant amount of “sucking in,” is a strange experience. I suppose I will need to go ahead and check my ego/vanity at the door and embrace the great expansion. Enjoy the pics!

Baby Lewis – Sucking thumb

Baby Lewis – Profile, facing up

19 weeks, 4 days – almost halfway!

17 Weeks and Counting

Time is marching on, baby is growing, and I have finally stopped sleeping so much. I am feeling significantly better – energized is probably not a word I will ever use while pregnant, but that’s ok. I had my 4 month appointment last week, where I got to hear the little one’s heartbeat again. This time it was much louder, more distinct, and even more surreal. Since I haven’t felt any movement yet, it’s still very odd to be tangibly reminded that there is a little human in there. Our next appointment will be the best one yet – the super cool ultrasound! We have it scheduled for the 2nd week in June, and are super excited to find out whether we will be having a hairy little boy or girl :).

Most of my normal clothes still fit just fine, but that will not be the case for long. Things are getting a little tight here and there –  I feel like people just keep looking at me thinking “She must drink a lot of beer…” Eesh. Nick and I picked up a few maternity odds and ends a little while ago, and the lovely Kelly Esposito was kind enough to lend me some of her clothes too. Not sure what all a pregnant lady needs yet, but I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.

I’ll leave you with a quick look at where we are ‘growth’ wise. Nick was kind enough to model for you too.

The proud papa

17 weeks

Baby Lewis: The Journey Begins

Well, hello friends and family! Instead of posting personal pictures and info for the entire [Facebook] world to see during this pregnancy, I decided a blog may be a more private route. It’s still online, yes, but at least I can semi control who sees it and I won’t be forcing people to read/see things they don’t care about. If you want to know what’s going on, keep coming back, if it’s TMI, then go ahead, gag a little and don’t feel obligated to keep reading.

I don’t have a whole lot to report as of this week – I am 13 weeks along, and am finally starting to get some of my appetite and energy back. Poor Nick has had to put up with my food aversions for quite a while now – translation: crappy dinner for him. He has been very sweet about everything, mostly taking care of all the weird smells I can’t handle (Mugsy, trash, old food, etc). He is very excited to be a Daddy, and will be very good at it. He finally had his first “there’s a baby in there!” moment last week when we were able to go hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. It was sweet to see his face light up with a big goofy grin :).

We haven’t been very good about taking any prego pictures yet, mostly b/c I have been feeling so blah. Thankfully the weight gain game hasn’t been too bad so far. Slow and steady doesn’t get stretch marks, right? Hah, fingers crossed on that front. I will start posting some pictures as soon as a bump beings to emerge.

I’m not too sure what all you guys want to know, so let me know if I start telling/showing too much, or if I’m just babbling and not getting to a point ever. Feedback would be much appreciated. I love you all and look forward to sharing this time with you :).